Sophia Young to Represent the Silver Stars at NBA All-Star Weekend

Young will join Team Texas in the 2012 Haier Shooting Stars competition

Related Images

Shane Bevel/NBAE/Getty Images

SAN ANTONIO – San Antonio Silver Stars forward Sophia Young will represent the Silver Stars in the 2012 Haier Shooting Stars competition as part of All-Star weekend, the NBA announced today. The Haier Shooting Stars competition will be held on Feb. 25 at Orlando’s Amway Center.

A four-time WNBA All-Star and three-time All-WNBA honoree, Young will join the Houston Rockets’ Chandler Parsons and TNT analyst Kenny Smith on Team Texas. Parsons – an Orlando-native and second-round pick in 2011 – has worked his way into Rockets’ starting lineup as a rookie, while Smith won back-to-back NBA championships with the Rockets in 1994 and 1995.

Team Texas will compete against squads representing Atlanta, New York and host city Orlando in the annual shooting competition. Team Atlanta features the Atlanta Hawks’ Joe Johnson, Lindsay Harding of the Atlanta Dream and NBA TV analyst Steve Smith, who was a member of the 2003 NBA champion San Antonio Spurs. Team New York features the New York Knicks’ Landry Fields, Cappie Pondexter of the New York Liberty and former Knick Allan Houston. Team Orlando is comprised of Jameer Nelson from the Orlando Magic, current Phoenix Mercury guard and Florida native Marie Ferdinand-Harris and former Magic great Dennis Scott.

In last year’s competition, Team Atlanta – which featured S. Smith, the Hawks’ Al Horford and the Dream’s Coco Miller – defeated Team Texas – which featured Silver Stars guard Roneeka Hodges, K. Smith and the Mavericks’ Dirk Nowitzki – in the final round with a time of 1:10.

The Silver Stars have been helping to represent Team Texas in the Haier Shooting Stars competition since 2006 while winning three titles. Former Silver Star Kendra Wecker competed in the 2006 and 2007 contests, teaming with Steve Kerr and Tony Parker for the win in 2006. Guard Becky Hammon joined the competition for three consecutive seasons – from 2008-10 – earning a pair of titles, while guard Roneeka Hodges participated in 2011.

The Haier Shooting Stars contest features one current NBA player, one current WNBA player and one NBA legend on each team. There are six numbered shooting locations of increasing difficulty, with each team attempting to make all shots in numeric order in the fastest time. Each team will select a specific player rotation to follow throughout the competition. Each shot must be made before the next player begins shooting in succession. Teams have up to two minutes to complete the entire shooting course and the team that completes all six shots in the least amount of time is declared the winner. In the case of a tie, a shoot-off will be used to determine the winner.

Haier Shooting Stars will be televised live nationally as part of the NBA All-Star Saturday Night presented by State Farm, which will also feature the Foot Locker Three-Point Contest, Sprite Slam Dunk, and Taco Bell Skills Challenge. TNT and ESPN Radio’s national coverage will begin at 8 p.m. EST from Amway Center. The NBA All-Star Game on Sunday, Feb. 26, will air live on TNT, ESPN Radio and in more than 200 countries and will be broadcast in more than 40 languages.

The Silver Stars open the 2012 season on May 19 at Tulsa before tipping off the home schedule against the Chicago Sky 30 at 7 p.m. Ticket plans for the 2012 season start at $180 and are available online at SASilverStars.com or by calling (210) 444-5090.